Nipun Kathuria

A Guide to Venture Capital: Raising capital for your business? Dive into this comprehensive guide crafted by the Irish Venture Capital Association in collaboration with EquityNetwork. This resource is packed with actionable insights on: 1️⃣ Attracting Venture Capitalists: Learn how to present your startup as an irresistible investment opportunity. 2️⃣ Crafting an Investor-Ready Business Plan: Develop a plan that highlights your vision, market opportunity, and revenue model. 3️⃣ Benefits of Private Equity Financing: Understand how private equity can accelerate growth and open new opportunities. 4️⃣ Navigating Startup Growth Stages: From seed to exit, gain clarity on funding needs at every stage. 5️⃣ Key Investor Questions: Be prepared to answer critical questions about your product, market, and growth strategy. Whether you’re gearing up for your seed round or looking to scale, this guide equips you with the tools to position your startup for success in the competitive world of venture capital. #VentureCapital #StartupFunding #BusinessGrowth #Entrepreneurship #InvestorRelations PS. check out 🔔 for a winning pitch deck the template created by Silicon Valley legend, Peter Thiel https://lnkd.in/ejp-Bhnu

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Businesses that last are truly built the same! A business that is doing so well. Has been built on an absolute focus on product and R&D. One that has chosen a niche space but is number 1 in 7 countries in that space. One which is an industry leader and then next highest player doesn’t have even half of its market share. My recent visit to Tynor Orthotics Private Limited underlined certain traits that have made it what it is today. 1. Founder focus on quality: Continous improvement in each little sub process, quality assurance led products and a need to be a better version of themselves each day. 2. Business fundamentals in place: The business has been self sufficient from day one and did not seek funding instead, because of its product excellence was sought out by investors. And what a killing have the investors made! 3. Actually give back: Willingness to support and give back to their employees, their community and other businesses is so hard coded into the DNA. Because when you build to be the best you focus on yourself and do not get swayed or insecure of competition or by anyone else A large business, a successful business, built out of Chandigarh, built by good humans. Building from Bharat for the World! P.S. their products are actually best in class!

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Top News of the Week in Indian Startup Ecosystem: 1. The week saw the first mega funding deal materialise for an Indian startup in the form of healthtech unicorn Innovaccer’s $275 Mn Series F fundraise. 2. On the back of this, healthtech emerged as the most funded startup sector this week. Besides Innovaccer, BrainSinghtAI and Zoplar also raised $5 Mn and $3.4 Mn this week. 3. Fintech, cleantech and ecommerce all saw three funding deals materialise this week, leading to fresh capital infusion of $48.9 Mn, $14.2 Mn and $13.3 Mn respectively. 4.  After months of speculations, Ritesh Agarwal increased his stake in his startup OYO with a capital infusion of $65 Mn via his venture capital firm Redsprig Innovation Partners. This funding round made travel tech the second most funded sector this week. 5. This week’s most active investor was VC firm Alteria Capital, investing in BrainSightAI’s $5 Mn pre-Series A funding round and Pratilipi’s $1.2 Mn funding round. 6. Eyewear major Lenskart is said to have initiated talks with bankers for a $1 Bn IPO that could value it in the range of $7 Bn to $8 Bn. Its IPO could hit the Indian bourses toward the end of the next financial year. Read the full post on link below Stay up do that with the Indian startup ecosystem on Medial.

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Sujith Nair, Beckn's WhatsApp-averse, badminton-loving chief mover and shaker, gave us a peek into the world's first # e-commerce protocol. Imagine if Colgate wanted to sell a lot of toothpaste, would it open separate exclusive stores on every street? NO! Instead, it ensures its products are available in all stores where people come to shop, and not just toothpaste. Similarly, Beckn is a way for an online business to make its products and services available on other stores (popular daily-use consumer apps) instead of setting up its own store (its own consumer app) and waiting for customers to come in droves! The Beckn Protocol underpins Open Network For Digital Commerce (ONDC) and is a universal translator for e-commerce platforms. We would normally call it the Rosetta Stone for digital services, but now we have BHASHINI 😉 . It allows disparate systems to "speak" to each other seamlessly. The Beckn Protocol has become a verb in the tech world. "Just Beckn it!" has become a common phrase among developers when discussing open-source solutions for digital commerce. In fact, we like it so much that we are using Beckn use cases as our episode artwork (instead of our normal groovy cover art) to spread the word in our own little way. Some may even argue that the yellow and black in the artwork denote open mobility networks (read taxis) 😀. The even more nerdy might catch the movie reference in the title 🎬. So, is it an app? Is it an aggregator? Is it a platform? No. It is a Super Capability - #decentralised and #open. Listen, learn and use. sujith nair | Pramod Varma | Sanjay Purohit | Shankar Maruwada | Shireesh Joshi | T Koshy | Namma Yatri | FIDE | Antler | Bingepods (Ideabrew Studios) | OpenExO | Thinkers360 | IBM Alumni | Microsoft Alumni Network | The RSA (The royal society for arts, manufactures and commerce) | World Economic Forum | Digital India Corporation | nasscom | Abhishek Singh | Nilesh | Sheetal https://lnkd.in/dydrjnbU

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📋 15 Cheat Sheets on Marketing, Sales, Fundraising, Pitch Decks, and More 🔹 Pricing and Packaging Software 🔹 Five Prospect Stages 🔹 2024 Fundability Benchmarks 🔹 Leadership Transitions 🔹 SaaS Monetization Steps 🔹 Essential Pitch Slides 🔹 Paul Graham’s Investor Guide 🔹 Investor Question Types 🔹 TAM, SAM, SOM Explained 🔹 Comprehensive Pitch Deck Guide 🔹 SaaS Sales with MEDDICC 🔹 Identifying the Right Customers 🔹 Anatomy of a Perfect Pitch Deck 🔹 Prioritization Frameworks #Marketing #Sales #Fundraising #Business #CheatSheets

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{New pod 🎤} "𝐆𝐓𝐌 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐬 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐔𝐒-𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐁2𝐁 𝐒𝐚𝐚𝐒 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐩𝐬" This episode explores GTM strategies and learnings for US-India B2B SaaS startups. We cover everything from finding design partners in the US, scoping MVPs, figuring out what ICP to focus on, navigating the unique challenges of early PMF, GTM hiring in the US, and finally, working towards creating M&A exit options. Joining me for this discussion is Satya Ganni, an experienced SaaS founder and operator who has successfully built and sold five companies and led two acquisitions as a buyer. He is currently serving as CEO of Beamer and Userflow. Beamer is developing a cutting-edge product-led growth toolkit tailored to product leaders at SaaS and digital-first companies. They recently acquired Userflow to augment the business. TIME STAMPS: (01:15) Satya’s journey as a repeat US-India SaaS founder and operator (04:38) [Case Study: 0-to-1] Finding US design partners (11:09) Scoping B2B SaaS MVPs (15:42) [Case Study: $10k-100k ARR] Identifying which ICP to focus on - SMB vs mid-market vs enterprise (22:23) [Case Study: $100k-$1Mn ARR] Navigating the unique challenges of early PMF (27:18) [Case Study: $1-5Mn ARR] Building a US leadership team post-PMF (34:33) [Case Study: $5-20Mn ARR] Working towards creating M&A exit options  (38:46) Learning to become a proactive relationship builder YouTube - https://lnkd.in/guGQeBwA Spotify - https://lnkd.in/gAg7XeF4 Apple Podcasts - https://lnkd.in/gkYEDpED An Operator's Blog - https://lnkd.in/ggGbzSKY

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What if the answer to a massive healthcare problem was hidden in plain sight? In this week's The Lobster Talks, we follow Ankur Rustagi of Saatvy Health (YC S23) a YC founder who pivoted from AI to delve into the untapped potential of Ayurveda for chronic conditions. Ankur's curiosity was piqued by a startling statistic: the U.S. spends trillions on healthcare, yet a significant portion of the population suffers from chronic illnesses. Driven by personal experience and a thirst for solutions beyond conventional medicine, Ankur turned to Ayurveda. This episode uncovers: -The eye-opening data that revealed the scale of the chronic illness problem in the U.S. -Ankur's personal journey with rheumatoid arthritis and his exploration of alternative treatments -The discovery of Ayurveda's potential to manage symptoms and address root causes -The initial skepticism surrounding Ayurveda's ancient wisdom and its relevance in the modern world -Ankur's decision to dive deeper, connecting with practitioners, experimenting, and witnessing the benefits firsthand Listen to the full episode to hear Ankur's story and gain valuable insights into: -The power of questioning conventional wisdom and seeking alternative solutions -The importance of personal experiences in shaping entrepreneurial journeys -The potential of ancient healing traditions like Ayurveda to address modern health challenges -The courage to embrace unconventional ideas and explore uncharted territories 🎧 Listen to this episode on your fave pod platform or watch on YouTube -https://lnkd.in/e6_hUq_6 . . . . . #ayurveda #chronicillness #healthcaresolutions #founderstory #YCstartup #thelobstertalks

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We’re facing a deluge of ecommerce enabler startups, and honestly, I don’t quite know why. I’d like to figure out if there is a bigger trend at play here, and also see as many more companies as possible in this space to help develop a thesis. So if you have any gyaan to dispense, please share your thoughts here or DM me (and we can setup a call thereafter if needed). And if you are a founder in this space/ know somebody who is building in this space, please write to/ refer them to [email protected] Dilsher Dhupia Pranav Sanghvi Tanuj Saraf Merak Ventures

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Dr. Ankur Pathak is Founding Principal (investor) at London Real Ventures - 5 million subscribers & 1 billion+ views. Today we discuss building relationships with investors. ..including "silent watchers", WEBTM, investor updates, community, confidence and more. - Hands on vs hands off investors  - WEBTM triggers awareness  - Trust building with 2 mechanisms  - Confidence, leadership, learning skills  - Community you have built  - How to maintain existing relationships and value add  - Intro your investor to other founders/investors (they help you, you help them - relationship)  - How often to update the investor (I do 1,200 calls every quarter)  - What updates to an investor are conducive even when they said no  - Do heavy homework on your investor  - Who are the “silent watchers” in your life (investors, people that eventually might buy, etc) …keep moving forward while accounting for the silent watchers rooting for you - Do you look shiny as a founder  - How would your communication look like if you treat every conversation as a 10yr relationship (because it is (3yrs - 10+) so you should) Mohammad Hossein Tavangar is Director at Founder Institute and former Financial Advisor at the European Commission. Dr Ankur Pathak & Mohammad are SFGN Heads in our global executive/investor network (sf-gn.com). Dr Ankur is also a council member in our SFGAC (Super Founder Global Advisory Council) at the sf-gac.com newsletter. We hope you enjoy our chat :-)

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Revenue to valuation multiple is useless for private startups. You invest now for future growth expectations in 1-2yrs.

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What It Means to Help a Startup When asked what would help their company, entrepreneurs will say “money”. Money is the lifeblood of an entrepreneur - it is the means for them to grow or even just survive another week. But, money is often mis-characterized as only investment. This is simply not true. Money can be revenue - in the form of you purchasing a good or service from the entrepreneur. This is the case for Peeq Pro. We want everyone who wants to “help” us to buy our products. I am asked what we need…and I say customers. But, when people offer to help, they often offer services for which we have to pay or insight into our business strategy or a range of other “assistance”. When an entrepreneur asks you to buy his or her product, the best thing you can do is that. Buy the product. So, today on Cyber Monday, we want customers to buy our products. Please purchase our cleanser. Put it in your shower or at your sink, and use it everyday. Peeq Pro believes that every person who has a smart phone should wash their eyelids every day. That’s our motto. So, today and for the month of December, rather than telling me or other founders what their startups need - LISTEN. Eyelids are gross. You should wash them. Really. We want feedback on the quality of our products. It’s okay to say that it stings or that you don’t like the smell. It’s okay to say that you prefer another product. We sell most of the products that people would choose instead of our cleanser. At the end of the day, our business is about better understanding people’s behavior and changing it subtly over time to include a new hygiene habit. Help us do that. So, the best thing you can do for us…is change your own habit. We want to change the vernacular around washing eyelids - call it “peeqing”. Do it every day when you are in the shower or at your sink. Wherever you wash your face, you should have a bottle of Peeq Pro Eyelid and Facial Cleanser. This is what helps MY startup. https://lnkd.in/gbYBfjFj

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This post from Vaibhav Domkundwar beautifully shows how surviving long enough can position a startup to take advantage of an eventual tailwind. When we invested in Yulu, no one had a clue that Quick Commerce will become the next commerce phenomenon in the country after payments. Because Yulu intelligently survived, kept improving the product and is capital-efficient enough to be agile to market needs, it’s now befitting from QC tailwinds. Reminds me of what the Rippling founder once said - as a startup, just survive 10 years and the odds are that you will end up succeeding.

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I’ve started to understand this. The hype on needing to raise #VC money can push you to accept bad advice. There are many ways to finance a #venture other than VC. There is a lot to be said to creating a business model that can self sustain rather than need high amounts of investment and giving up too much control too early.

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In 2024, startups going IPO continue to decrease across every region, except India. Without exit distributions, LPs are holding off on allocating to new funds. Creating a ripple effect across different VC funding stages. This is as well a testing time for many startups to stand alone on their financial business models. Especially for the new ones in AI apps, #fintech and Cryptocurrency. Running solely on traction & market share gains cannot go far, without a properly working unit economics. That's exactly why we're building our #aiagents framework to prioritize revenue from the very first month. #vcfunding Source via Silicon Valley Bank

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Kenko Health: From Skyrocketing Growth to Sudden Shutdown Kenko Health’s story was one many startups dream of—rapid growth, big-name investors, and a solution that promised to transform healthcare access. But in a flash, they’ve gone from a company with ₹85 crore in revenue to shutting down operations. What happened? Well, picture this: You’re climbing Everest. You’ve got a great climbing team, amazing resources, and you’ve trained hard. You have got a good chunk of international trainers who have been helping you get there and the local sherpas who are going to provide you with all the necessary equipment to reach the summit. The summit is in sight, but then the sherpas wants the climbing team to be mostly domestic leading to distress among the international trainers who have been helping you reach there. They can't turn their backs now and go back since they are equally invested in making the summit happen. Local Sherpas= Domestic regulator who gives out the coveted Insurance License (summit) International Trainers/ Team Members= Foreign Investors Kenko grew revenue 17x in one year, rising from ₹5 crore in FY22 to ₹85 crore in FY23. Impressive, right? Yet, despite their successes, they stumbled on a critical hurdle: securing an insurance license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDAI). We all saw the potential. With Lightrock, Peak XV Partners (Sequoia Capital), BEENEXT backing Kenko, the startup seemed destined for greatness. But behind the scenes, things weren’t as perfect. Kenko’s quasi-insurance model worked brilliantly at first, providing affordable subscription health plans. But when it came to the regulatory complexities of acquiring that golden insurance license, things fell apart. They had the customers, the revenue, and the drive, but when the insurance goal became unreachable, the air thinned out. They even had investors lined up for a $27m Series B round—money that would have given them the capital cushion to survive. But then, to receive the insurance license, there were problems. The regulator wanted domestic investors to lead the charge. This, of course, caused a massive restructuring headache. Suddenly, the founders were caught between a rock and a hard place—international VCs on one side, domestic regulatory requirements on the other. And then, the final nail in the coffin—Kenko ran out of money. Even though the founders personally infused ₹9cr to keep the ship afloat, it wasn’t enough. By early 2024, employees weren’t getting paid, debts were mounting, and Kenko’s shutdown was all but inevitable. But this isn’t just about Kenko. It’s a case study on how regulatory hurdles can undo even the most promising companies in the startup ecosystem. Could this have been avoided? #kenko #insurtech #fintech #india #startups ------------------------------- 💡 I write interesting posts every week about my thoughts on the startup ecosystem, AI & disruptive technologies. Do follow Sabhareesh M for more!

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The most common mistake for #startup is to do right things at wrong time. The biggest shortage for #atartup is time - and focusing on doing things that are not needed (at that time) causes that needed things are delayed or not done. #camelstartup

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Isn’t it amazing how start-ups’/ companies’ focus have dramatically shifted to profitability? 😯 Just in the last decade era (10-15 years back), companies like Amazon/ Flipkart, Ola/Uber, BYJU'S’s, OYO and WeWork were laser-focused on growth - revenues over everything.
 It was all about grabbing market share, even if it meant burning through cash. 💸 Today, most of them are still loss-making. But companies in the last 5-10 years? We’re seeing a shift.
 Newer players (or the ones that became prominent recently) like Meesho, Zepto, Urban Company, and PW (PhysicsWallah) are taking a different path.
 They’re not just chasing scale— most of them actually aiming and winning profitability (at least EBITDA-positive). 📊
 Sustainability is finally becoming as important as growth. Of course, it’s not a one-size-fits-all trend.
Companies like Ola Electric are loss making, while Zerodha (last decade era) have consistently made profits. But it’s fascinating to see this evolution of new tech/ business model focus to profitability.
 What do you think about this shift? 💬

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Never work in Stealth Mode for a Startup Idea. Very risky. This is the time that the idea needs a lot of Validation, Understanding Use Cases, Market Insights, Understanding Competition, Adoption challenges, Market Sizing. More prospects/customers in this phase needs to be met. Asking all the right & tough questions. The Foundations of Problem Validation & Value Proposition needs to be clear here. Working in Stealth Mode cuts you off from these inputs. We have worked with 100+ MedTech/Healthcare startups over the last 3 years. Impact : ✅ Some startups pivoted after they worked with us in GTM Readiness. ✅ Few founders even went back to their Corporate jobs realising the problem they were solving was wrong & didn't see a path to PMF. ✅ Few changed their Pricing and Business Model and entered the Market. Explore GTM Readiness Services. Enter the form in the comments section for a discussion.

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i know a lot of doctors (really good ones) and a bunch of fitness/health advisors (really good ones) and there is often a difference of view on basics like supplements or not, whey or not, and so on. irrespective of what the right answers may be on many of these, the challenge is the fact that if there is disagreement on the basics, then how are we going to communicate simple time-tested truths to 1.4B people to ensure our nation is healthy, and our healthcare costs don't balloon out of control? we need a UPI moment for national wellness. someone is going to figure it out. ps: upi moment = a scalable solution that has the simplicity of upi

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